Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, who landed in the national capital on Sunday, will meet her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar today, October 13. The talks between the two leaders are expected to focus on establishing a framework for bilateral 'strategic' cooperation in trade, energy and security.
This is Anand's first visit to India since he took over as Canada's foreign minister in May this year. She will also meet Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss ways to strengthen mutual trade ties.
“This visit will help build on the positive momentum in India-Canada relations by reinvigorating our bilateral mechanisms, deepening economic cooperation and further strengthening the enduring people-to-people ties that anchor our partnership,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said on X.
Anand' will travel to Singapore and China from India.
Anand's visit to India comes at a time when India and Canada are moving towards establishing a framework for strategic cooperation on issues such as trade diversification, energy transformation and security, a Canadian readout said on Saturday.
Also events in Mumbai
“Minister Anand will also travel to Mumbai, India, where she will meet with Canadian and Indian companies committed to supporting investment, job creation and economic opportunities in Canada and India,” the report said.
The visit of the Canadian Foreign Minister comes more than three weeks after Canadian National Security Advisor Nathalie Drouin visited India and held extensive talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
Days after the Doval-Drouin meeting, Canada designated the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity because it “violently attacked” certain communities and created a “climate of fear and intimidation.”
The renewed vibrancy in ties between the two countries followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada in June.
Relations between India and Canada reached a low point after then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in 2023 about a possible Indian link in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India had dismissed Trudeau's accusation as 'absurd'.
In October last year, India recalled its High Commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa tried to link them to the Nijjar case.
India has also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats.
However, Liberal party leader Carney's victory in April's parliamentary election helped start the process of resetting relations.
Both sides have already stationed their high commissioners in each other's capitals.
The two countries also agreed to revive several mechanisms to promote relations in a number of areas.
